AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Beckett, wanna eat breakfast in your room, little man?” Finn asked, hurrying ahead of them into the kitchen. Blythe heard him leading their son upstairs toward his room through the back staircase.
“I’m sorry,” she said plainly, “did you sayyourson? Why on earth would you think he’s your son?”
“My parents told me you had a kid nine months after the wedding—or lack thereof—” He shrugged. His arms were bigger than before, he was in better shape, but prison had not been kind to him. He looked terrible, as if all the life had been sucked out of him. “I put two and two together.”
“Well, you did it wrong,” Finn said, his voice echoing down the stairs as he approached them. “Let’s go in here so he doesn’t have to hear this.” They followed him into the living room, but no one sat.
“How do you know? He could be mine. I want to see him.”
“Asher,” Blythe said softly, still trying to decide her feelings, “he’s not your son. We had the tests run when he was born.”
“But he could’ve been and you never told me?”
“We waited until he was born because we hoped there was nothing to tell,” Blythe told him. “And there wasn’t.”
“How did you find out where we lived, anyway?” Finn asked.
“Mom,” he said. “I found the address in some of her mail. Where you sent her a card or something.”
“We didn’t realize you were out of jail,” Blythe said.Or we would’ve changed the name on the card.
“I was released six months ago. Good behavior and half my sentence.” He ran a hand through his greasy hair. “Look, I wanted to say…” He sighed. “I’m really happy for you two. Honestly, I am. It’s taken me a long time to get to that point. I’m clean. No more drinking, no drugs, no stealing. Totally sober. I know that probably doesn’t matter to you—”
“It does,” Finn said, “it really does.” He stepped forward, placing a hand on Asher’s shoulder. “We never wanted it to go like this for you.”
“I know,” Asher said. “I just…I was stupid. Getting caught was probably the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me. Now that I’m out, I’m going to get myself together. I’m going to make right everything and everyone I ever wronged. Coming here was step one.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“I know,” Asher said. “But I wanted to. I hurt you, Blythe. I really hurt you. I couldn’t see how badly at the time, but I see it now. I had five years to think about it. And you, Finn. God, what I let you go down for…it kills me. I never wanted it to go down that way. I didn’t know, but that doesn’t make me entirely innocent. I knew something was wrong when you disappeared.”
“We’re cool, Ash,” Finn told him.
Asher scoffed. “I guess it all worked out for the best anyway, huh?”
Finn put an arm around Blythe. “You’re the only reason we met. We have no one else to thank but you. You gave me the best part of my life,” he pointed to the floor above them, “thetwobest parts.”
Asher smiled. “I’ll always think of you as my brother.”
“You never stopped being mine.”
Asher cleared his throat. “Right. Well, I guess I should be getting back home.” He turned around but stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “It was really good to see you two.”
“You know,” Blythe said, as he walked back toward the entranceway, “you could always stay.”
Asher spun back around, his eyes hopeful. “Here?”
“Nothere, here, but here in Darlington. We have a motel that my best friend AnnaBeth is running. It’s nothing like New York, but it’s nice.”
“If you’re truly serious about a fresh start,” Finn added, “Darlington is the best place to do it.”
Asher nodded. “I might take you up on that. But first, I need to get a bite to eat.”
“Norma’s,” Finn and Blythe both suggested at once before giggling at each other.
“You won’t find any better food here,” Blythe told him.
He waved the keys in his hand. “Maybe I’ll see you guys around.”
